This is what we like to see!! The top five new releases on DVD progressively get less popular as they get worse. That is, the films with the best scores are also the ones which most people saw, and the two top films were even nominated for Oscars. But this week, Clooney beats Mo’nique (a brawl we’d pay to see in real life, bare-knuckles) and Up in the Air is the film to watch. Buy, I mean buy. Using this link.
Criticker Pick! Up in the Air – Average Tier 7.26 Ryan Bingham is a corporate downsizing expert whose cherished life on the road is threatened just as he is on the cusp of reaching ten million frequent flyer miles and just after he’s met the frequent-traveler woman of his dreams. Up in the Air @ Amazon
Precious – Average Tier 6.59 In Harlem, an overweight, illiterate teen who is pregnant with her second child is invited to enroll in an alternative school in hopes that her life can head in a new direction. Precious @ Amazon
Capitalism: A Love Story – Average Tier 5.75 What is the price that America pays for its love of capitalism? Moore takes us into the homes of ordinary people whose lives have been turned upside down and looks for explanations. Capitalism: A Love Story @ Amazon
Planet 51 – Average Tier 3.75 The inhabitants of Planet 51 live in fear of alien invasion. Their paranoia is realized when an astronaut arrives from Earth. Befriended by a young resident, he has to avoid capture in order to recover his spaceship and try to return home. Planet 51 @ Amazon
By now you all know that Kathryn Bigelow and The Hurt Locker were the big winners at the Oscars, and there were no real surprises in any of the major acting categories.
So let’s take a look at some of the lesser known victors of the night!
Using state-of-the-art equipment, a group of activists infiltrate a cove near Taijii, Japan to expose both a shocking instance of animal abuse and a serious threat to human health.
“This film transcends its environmental core to take a broad look at the myopic reality of the Taiji dolphin hunt. Yes, it is a biased depiction, but rather than focus all of its energy on the emotional slaughter the film chooses to examine personal, ecological, political, medical, and economic issues that arise from the killing and consumption of dolphins. In the end, the antagonists seem misguided rather than villainous, and the film’s suggestions reasonable rather than radical.” – Thaklos
A retired lawyer (Ricardo Darín) wants to write a novel about a crime he tried to solve thirty years earlier: a woman was raped and murdered. When the court decided to close the case for lack of evidence, he and his sidekick (Guillermo Francella) relay on one loose clue: a man looking at the victim, in an old photograph.
“A film full of surprises. Although it is full of extremely silly plot turns, it’s such a well crafted film that you can easily avoid nitpicking it. It uses a free-form narrative that departs from the structure of typical thriller, focusing on the moral dilemma over the crime. Another extraordinary surprise was Francella: although I thought he already sold his soul to Satan years ago, performing in comedies so low they reach the fiery pits of Hell, here he delivers a fantastic performance.” – KGB
A lot of the categories in this year’s Oscars seem to be already locked up… Mo’nique and Christoph Waltz are as good as gold, and there’s not much doubt who’s going to win Best Actor (Bridges) or Actress (Bullock). A lot of attention is focusing on the Best Picture & Director battles between The Hurt Locker and Avatar. We’re betting Kathryn Bigelow walks away from this one with the directing prize — she’ll be the first woman to win Best Director, and it will be well-deserved. She should have won it for Point Freaking Break! That’s right!
We’re always more interested in the prize for Best Foreign Language Film, possibly because we live in Europe — and it’s a great race this year, with 5 movies that are better than anything up for Best Picture:
Our favorite was The White Ribbon and it’s high time that Michael Haneke was recognized by the Academy — he’s won just about every other award on the planet. But the odds-on favorite this year seems to be A Prophet.
Most well-known for his period epic The Leopard from 1963, Luchino Visconti is also responsible for one of Criticker’s Neglected Gems — L’Innocente. Another drama about human relationships, L’Innocente hit screens in 1976, the same year Visconti would die in Rome of a stroke.
Like The Leopard, this movie takes place in the world of the 19th century Italian aristocracy. It’s based on the 1892 novel by Gabriele D’Annunzio, and is mainly a drama of infidelity. Wealthy Tullio Hermil has grown weary of his lucrative, boring life and lovely, boring wife, and embarks on an affair with a seductive, widowed Countess. When he eventually runs into trouble with her and another of her suitors, he returns to his wife… though it might be too late.
The sets and photography in this film are nearly as stunning as in The Leopard, but the true star is the film’s music. The score, made up of classical works from composers such as Mozart and Liszt, is perfectly intertwined into the film, which at times feels almost like an opera. It’s a perfect end to Visconti’s career, and a fitting farewell. Not too many people at Criticker have ranked this forgotten masterpiece, so we encourage you to seek it out!
It’s a great week for new DVDs if you’re a kid or just appreciate well-made movies for the younger set. Spike Jonze and Hayao Miyazaki step up to the plate, and smash two awesome films that all ages can enjoy: Where the Wild Things Are and Ponyo. If you’re still suffering wintry weather, you now have two great reasons to stay on the couch a little longer.
2012 – Average Tier 3.45 An epic adventure about a global cataclysm that brings an end to the world and tells of the heroic struggle of the survivors. 2012 @ Amazon
Where the Wild Things Are – Average Tier 6.99 Max, a rambunctious and sensitive boy feels misunderstood at home and escapes to where the Wild Things are. He lands on an island where he meets mysterious and strange creatures whose emotions are as wild and unpredictable as their actions. Where the Wild Things Are @ Amazon
Criticker Pick! Ponyo – Average Tier 7.12 An animated adventure centered on a 5-year-old boy and his relationship with a goldfish princess who longs to become human. Ponyo @ Amazon
Gentlemen Broncos – Average Tier 3.40 A teenager attends a fantasy writers’ convention where he discovers his idea has been stolen by an established novelist. Gentlemen Broncos @ Amazon
Since our days in Berlin, we’ve kept a close eye on the Berlinale — a festival which has become one of the world’s most important. The winner of the Golden Bear is almost always an incredible movie which takes everyone by surprise, and this year’s selection looks to continue the pattern.
Cue the ‘bears love honey’ jokes
Honey (Bal), by filmmaker Semih Kaplanoglu, is about a poetic account of young boy’s search for his missing father — a honey worker. It’s the third part of the director’s reverse-order “Yusuf” Trilogy, following Eggs and Milk. Check out the trailer — this is a film tailor-made to rack up awards:
Originally a suggestion by TonythePony, the newest enhancement at Criticker is Featured Reviews. Apart from just the films which you’ve scored the highest, you can now choose which of your mini-reviews are to be highlighted on your profile page.
You can bring attention to overlooked films which you loved, or clever mini-reviews which you’re proud of. Or whatever else! Your list of Featured Films is stored as a collection, and you have control over it just like any other collection. Any film can belong to your Featured Films collection, but in order for it to show up on your Profile, you have to have ranked it and written a mini-review.
And you can feature any number of films. 10 will be chosen at random for display on your profile.
So what are you waiting for?! You’ll see the link “Feature on Your Profile” on the film information page of any movie you’ve written a mini-review for.
Ryan Bingham is a corporate downsizing expert whose cherished life on the road is threatened just as he is on the cusp of reaching ten million frequent flyer miles and just after he’s met the frequent-traveler woman of his dreams. Up in the Air @ Amazon
In Harlem, an overweight, illiterate teen who is pregnant with her second child is invited to enroll in an alternative school in hopes that her life can head in a new direction. Precious @ Amazon
What is the price that America pays for its love of capitalism? Moore takes us into the homes of ordinary people whose lives have been turned upside down and looks for explanations. Capitalism: A Love Story @ Amazon
The MacManus brothers are living in Ireland with their father, but when they learn their priest has been killed by mob forces, they return to Boston to bring justice to those responsible. The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day @ Amazon
The inhabitants of Planet 51 live in fear of alien invasion. Their paranoia is realized when an astronaut arrives from Earth. Befriended by a young resident, he has to avoid capture in order to recover his spaceship and try to return home. Planet 51 @ Amazon
Using state-of-the-art equipment, a group of activists infiltrate a cove near Taijii, Japan to expose both a shocking instance of animal abuse and a serious threat to human health.
A retired lawyer (Ricardo Darín) wants to write a novel about a crime he tried to solve thirty years earlier: a woman was raped and murdered. When the court decided to close the case for lack of evidence, he and his sidekick (Guillermo Francella) relay on one loose clue: a man looking at the victim, in an old photograph.
Sort of an update of the old Warner Brothers books come to life cartoon- only here logos come to life and populate the world.
An epic adventure about a global cataclysm that brings an end to the world and tells of the heroic struggle of the survivors. 
Max, a rambunctious and sensitive boy feels misunderstood at home and escapes to where the Wild Things are. He lands on an island where he meets mysterious and strange creatures whose emotions are as wild and unpredictable as their actions. 
An animated adventure centered on a 5-year-old boy and his relationship with a goldfish princess who longs to become human. 
After her much older husband forces a move to a suburban retirement community, Pippa Lee engages in a period of reflection and finds herself heading toward a quiet nervous breakdown. 
A teenager attends a fantasy writers’ convention where he discovers his idea has been stolen by an established novelist. 
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